I have been wanting my dash to look better for the entire 10 years I have had the car. I am just too cheap to send it off the one of the vendors to have it redone. I know they do a perfect job, but my car is a driver. However, I wanted the best looking job possible and I also wanted to do a little better than just using a mettalic sharpie or a silver paint stick. In another thread, Bill440RT and JIMSHINE turned me onto this bare metal foil stuff.
Here are some pics I took. I am not totally done yet, but It's getting there:
The supplies, Bare metal foil, cleaner to degrease the dash, krylon semiflat black (recommended by my local hobby shop, he said it would not fill the crevices in and he was right) Not shown, but I used 2 exacto knives, mineral spirits to degrease the bezel before painting.
This will be a total freshening, including replacing the entire lense with a better one I have, and refacing the gauges. starting with the bezel. check out the backside, I am pretty lucky that most of the switches, etc.. are pretty good.
Here you can see that I have the entire thing lettered with a white paint stick and I still have to "chrome" around all of the square bezels on the left side of the cluster and all of the small gauges.
By the way, I have previousely practiced on a spare bezel and I found out a couple of interesting things:
1. Using a silver metallic sharpie marker is just as good as a silver paint stick. much easier to use is you go that route and there's nothing wrong with that at all. I will admit that the bare metal foil is not easy to use, but the results are pretty damn good.
2. One of the reasons I never did get my practice piece to look good was the "relief" on the raised letters. I always made a mess and never could successfully use the white without it looking like a two year old did it. Today, working on my original, untouched bezel, the letters were much more defined. I used the exacto knife to really define the letters. The hardest ones are the 4 places that say "off" they are small and the "F" will give you a problem if there is any paint build up on it. scape all areas out with knife before using the mineral spirits and painting.
3. this krylon semiflat black did a nice job of covering while not so thick as to fill in the ribs or around the letters.
bare metal foil: $15
Krylon paint: $ 5
exacto knives: $ 6
cleaner: $ 7
mineral spirits: $ 3
What a difference :o Looks great :icon_smile_wink:
awesome, do mine next
where do you get the foil?
when i did mine, i went to the motorcycle shop and bought a can of PJ1 satin black engine case paint. the finish is the best i've ever seen. also, being a high heat resistance paint, its a lot tougher finish than normal krylon. that PJ1 company also makes a vynal dye paint in black for cycle seats, and has the same nice finish. not the glossey shine that makes the seats look cheap and painted. bruce
Quote from: Sydmoe on November 25, 2006, 07:28:53 AM
where do you get the foil?
http://www.bare-metal.com/bare-metal/bare-metal_foil.html
I am not done yet, but one sheet should do it. the turn signal bezels will be the hardest, so small. I may have to use the silver sharpie on them. I tried once already, and it did not work well.
silver: thanks for the compliment. but make no mistake, it's not as good as what you would get from performance car graphics or cv vacuum platers, but it's a little better than just using paint. If looking close at it, you can tell it's not chrome. So I guess have the worlds first 1/1 dash. at 1 mph or1 foot away, it looks mint!!
On the paint, I don't know how durable it needs to be. For my car, which sits in a nice shady garage when not being driven, I don't see it taking that much of a beating. The bare metal foil might give up the ghost before the paint does.
:bump:
Finished the main bezel, I could not get the foil to work on the turnsignal bezels or the smaller gauge bezels. I used a silver sharpie on those. I don't think it really takes that much away. I find my attention drawn to the larger gauge pods and the border anyway.
dkn1997,
Glad to hear the bare metal foil worked out for you, dash looks great! :2thumbs: :cheers:
If it makes you feel any better, my dash has been done with this stuff since the late-80's, about 20 yrs. STILL looks good after all these years, it may only have slightly yellowed some. My '68 sees show duty & cruise-night outings, so I am very pleased the way it held up so good. The dash bezels were probably painted with Krylon as well. It's been so long I don't remember. But, that too still looks like the day I painted it.
Keep going. The radio & glove box bezels are a breeze compared to that gauge bezel!!! :icon_smile_big:
Looks good. I wonder how many people just wallking by and glancing inside would ever notice it isn't a regular replate?
wow, that looks great. i've been thinking of doing my own dash. you just made up my mind for me . thanks Rene
Quote from: Ghoste on November 26, 2006, 11:14:02 AM
Looks good. I wonder how many people just wallking by and glancing inside would ever notice it isn't a regular replate?
I bet some will. from a distance all you would see is the shine. this stuff picks up the light very well. I am not a very coordinated person. I have always been good at fixing everything under the sun, but I cannot draw a straight line or anywhere near a perfect circle. I cannot do any kind of art work very well at all. with that said, I bet that someone with good hand/eye coordination could get this stuff to look perfect and probably do around the small bezels and turn signal lenses.
I will tell anyone this. if you want a more than presentable job, you can use a silver metallic sharpie. You almost cannot F that up. the only hard part then would be using the white paint stick around the letters, but If I can do it, anyone can. No it does not look like chrome, but looks better than "what's left of the chrome" like most of start out with.
That looks great! I wanted to do it myself, but never found the time.
looks like it was done professionally to me! :2thumbs:
2fast
got my decals from performancecar graphics tonight and went right to work. took me about an hour sitting at kitchen table with frequent interruptions to give the kiddies juice, cheerios, putting various cartoon dvd's in, etc..
I did not know you have to take them out of the cluster to do them. directions say to sand/paint old faces if they are rusted. well, since I have never seen an original in my life that's not rusted, they would have to come out. very easy work with the right size deep socket.
here is the beginning:
mr anal marking my gauges with a label maker so i don't get them mixed up after i sand and paint all of the faces black
one down.....
mock up...no lense in, and I did not even have to do the clock, it was mint, as most are.
here is before and after to show you what well under 100 bucks and some hard work can get you...
Very nice. I have had many '66/'67 dashes in and out but have never taken the '68's dash out.
that looks great :2thumbs:
that will brighten up your dash . Rene
nice work
damn DK!!!!!!!!!!!!!
that looks soooooo nice!!!! came out great!!! if i were to keep my original guages (as i'd like to update threm to modern ones) i would do them in white face.
GREAT JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
so what's your add. so i can send ya mine!!!! :yesnod:
I might try to do a spare one I have to sell. it's out of a 70 I think. headlight switch is f'd up, but everything else works. I may do that one with the sharpie and the decals. it would be better than what most people have. I almost never see any "freshened" up charger ralleye clusters, it always seems that they are show mint or bottom of the ocean bad. maybe there is a market for driver quality clusters for a couple of hundred bucks...
i'm sure there would be...if they look as good as yours came out!!!!! for a descent price!!!!
seee...you could get the kids involved & start your own company!!! hahaha you can pay them in cheerios!!! LOL :laugh:
Great job buddy! :icon_smile_cool:
Ive been thinking about doing my dash in my 71 RT for some time now.I think the 3rd gens will be a little easier to do.For everybodys info you can also get bare medal foil at hobby or craft shops that sell models and misc supplies. :yesnod:
That looks great!
I can't imagine you'd have any problem at all selling a few of those in "driver" condition.
the only problem is that i don't know if I have the patience to use the bare metal foil again. for my own dash, I was more than willing, but it's tedious work. if I do another, I will probably use a sharpie. still better than most of them out there...
Bare Metal Foil is NOT for everyone, you do need a steady hand. However, it's the next best thing to chrome. There's a new paint out that is supposed to resembled chrome very well, better than chrome spray paint or bare metal foil. Eastwood now carries it, I just saw it in their recent catalog.
DK, I finished the dash cluster a while ago for my Project '69. I used the white decals from Duranged Design, & a can of Dupli-Color Chrome spray paint. Cluster came out good, but I didn't get those crisp edges around the switches. They were very hard to mask, even with fine line tape. Still came out good, for "driver quality." Maybe I should have brushed those... :shruggy:
I heard somewhere that you can get any paint you want made into a paint stick. you could probably take apart an existing paint stick and clean it out, then put your choice of paint back in it. that would follow detail very well.
I am going to check into that eastwood chrome paint.
Quote from: dkn1997 on December 01, 2006, 08:08:12 PM
I did not even have to do the clock, it was mint, as most are.
You know why I believe that is..? Because all the JUICE running through the instrument cluster... That particular guage needs little to run on, so it must have something that cuts down the power... Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't that Auxillary Headlamp Wiring Set-Up, cut-down all that power going through our instrument clusters?
I had a '68 Satellite with this Headlamp Wiring Conversion done, and the headlamps were MUCH Brighter than any MoPar I've ever seen...
I'm gonna start a thread to see if somone has a "How To" on that wiring deal...
EDIT: Here it is: http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php?topic=21342.msg231883#msg231883
dash looks like new :yesnod: . awesome job ( dkn1997 ) :thumbs:
Quote from: Charger Aficionado on December 02, 2006, 05:46:52 PM
Quote from: dkn1997 on December 01, 2006, 08:08:12 PM
I did not even have to do the clock, it was mint, as most are.
You know why I believe that is..? Because all the JUICE running through the instrument cluster... That particular guage needs little to run on, so it must have something that cuts down the power... Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't that Auxillary Headlamp Wiring Set-Up, cut-down all that power going through our instrument clusters?
I had a '68 Satellite with this Headlamp Wiring Conversion done, and the headlamps were MUCH Brighter than any MoPar I've ever seen...
I'm gonna start a thread to see if somone has a "How To" on that wiring deal...
EDIT: Here it is: http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php?topic=21342.msg231883#msg231883
actually I think it's because the clock is made of aluminum and the rest of the gauges are steel.
VERY OBSERVANT dkn1997 I never thought of that, but am familiar with the guages... Hmmm... Nakes sense...
Quote from: dkn1997 on December 02, 2006, 06:43:02 PM
Quote from: Charger Aficionado on December 02, 2006, 05:46:52 PM
Quote from: dkn1997 on December 01, 2006, 08:08:12 PM
I did not even have to do the clock, it was mint, as most are.
You know why I believe that is..? Because all the JUICE running through the instrument cluster... That particular guage needs little to run on, so it must have something that cuts down the power... Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't that Auxillary Headlamp Wiring Set-Up, cut-down all that power going through our instrument clusters?
I had a '68 Satellite with this Headlamp Wiring Conversion done, and the headlamps were MUCH Brighter than any MoPar I've ever seen...
I'm gonna start a thread to see if somone has a "How To" on that wiring deal...
EDIT: Here it is: http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php?topic=21342.msg231883#msg231883
actually I think it's because the clock is made of aluminum and the rest of the gauges are steel.
:iagree:
Good job, DKN, looks great! :2thumbs: I recently redid my 68 bezels too, I and I must say I wish I knew about that krylon paint before. I used the Duplicolor semi gloss black and couldn't find 2 cans that would come out with the same finish. I ended up redoing mine a few times over to get something presentable. :flame: And I know what you're saying about needing to be patient with the bare metal foil, I tried that route myself and gave up on it. I figured the small gauges would be the hardest part, so that's where I started. I never got any farther than that.
I ended up using a modeler's chrome paint (Alcad 2 I think) that turned out as well as or better than the metal foill. I'm not sure if it's the same stuff Bill is talking about from Eastwoods, but it has to be sprayed with an airbrush. It only cost $5 or $10 bucks for enough to do at least 2 sets of bezels, but obviously if you don't already have an airbrush there's a lot more cost to factor in. Also, there's a lot of time to factor in with taping off all those little bezels.... By the time I was done with it all I was ready to drop the $400 on the repro bezels, but after hearing that they don't fit right I'm glad I didn't pay throught the nose for a not-quite-right-repop. I don't have any pics on my laptop, but I can post some later if you want when I get back to my other PC.
I haven't tried this with the clear plastic lens that go's over the gauge's. But, spray on furniture polish will fix scratched eye glasses and I think plastic safety glasses.
I found out that Zymol polish works fairly well on the lenses that go over the gauges. I'm gonna get started on my bezel later today and will post some pics when I finish. DK great job on the dash!!! :yesnod: :2thumbs: How much do the gauge face inserts run for a set, I would like to get a set if they are not to high priced.
hey fred....
thery have a website....... www.whiteguages.net
they are on ebay for around $30-$35 bucks
-JOHN
It's been over a year ago since I bought my gauge stickers from white gauges on FEEBAY, but I think it was $30.00 with shipping back then. I specified I wanted the stock look (black background white letters). I have no complaints about how it turned out. Very easy installation. I would make sure you get the faces sanded smooth if theres much rust on the faces of the gauge. If you don't they come out a little bumpy, not real bad tho. Don't ask :engel016: how I know.
Are the letters on the switches white? I thought the were silver too?
'day be white...
received my quartz clock conversion in the mail yesterday and tore into it. not that hard, worst part for me was putting the face and second hand trim ring back together, but still not too bad. hooked it up to my battery last night and when I came down this morning, it was still keeping time, so that's cool.
How much would you guys pay for a nice used clock with quartz movement and new adjust knob? I have an extra clock from another cluster.....curious if it's worth it to try...
There has got to be someone else besides RedLine who offer the volt meter conversion? I wish I had a spare cluster to see if I could get one to fit. I don't want to use the ammeter but still want to look stock!
Hookem
I am thinking about getting a generic volt gauge and having a local shop make me a vinyl decal to go over it that matches the stock gauge lettering. it's a novel idea, but I am not paying someone over 100 bucks to make me a gauge.
If I only had access to the font of the original, that would be sweeeetttt.
Nice work on the dashes, guys. If I ever get another second gen, that's probably how I'll do my dash. Can't do it with a 1st gen, as the chrome on the pods would not look quite right.
here's a pic of mine, i used Krylon semi-flat black and this elmers white paint pen i got from wallyworld, went on perfect and very easy to use, the chrome fingernail polish i used in the large areas, and silver sharpie on the small areas:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/smasherofall/jims%20pics/dash3.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/smasherofall/jims%20pics/chrome.jpg)
Looks great!! :2thumbs: I finished my dash and radio bezel a/c delete panels kick pannels and the large pannel above the glove box today. I will post the pics as soon as I get some new batterys in my camera.
Quote from: smasherofall on December 07, 2006, 05:43:15 PM
here's a pic of mine, i used Krylon semi-flat black and this elmers white paint pen i got from wallyworld, went on perfect and very easy to use, the chrome fingernail polish i used in the large areas, and silver sharpie on the small areas:
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/smasherofall/jims%20pics/dash3.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v606/smasherofall/jims%20pics/chrome.jpg)
nice work, I like the chrome nail polish idea, probably better than the silver sharpie. I have an idea: I took apart a silver paint pen I had and emptied it. I am going to put the best brush on chrome like substance I can find into it. chrome nail polish might be a winner....
Heres mine...I also used the Krylon semi-flat and I tried to use a silver Sharpie and wasnt very pleased so I redone it with a Pilot silver paint marker which looks a whole lot nicer than the sharpie did, and I done the lettering with a white Pentel paint marker. They both sell for about $5 each at Staples. I dont think I done too bad for my first try.
DKN - Looks beautiful! You may have inspired me to go back to the original! I took a different approach, but still need to do the chrome.....see photos.....
Back view
Quote from: pete on December 08, 2006, 12:50:37 PM
DKN - Looks beautiful! You may have inspired me to go back to the original! I took a different approach, but still need to do the chrome.....see photos.....
you might have just inspired me to go with aftermarket gauges!! i actually saw your dash in the old thread and it looks awesome. If I ever decide to make a custom job, I will be seeking you out for advice, truly beautiful...
and in a related story, I am going to staples tomorrow for the goods. this could be like the $50 paint job revolution over at moparts, except with dashes!!!
Hey manfred, I think that pilot pen looks better than any silver paint I have seen (not sprayed, but brushed or markered on)
I am thinking to try my next one with some bare metal foil and do just the really hard stuff with the paint pen. mix it up a bit. probably would fool a lot of people. and F them if it does not. we are doing dashes for our drivers, not show cars.
three days now and my home converted clock is still keeping time by the way...
The only problem I had was the pen is a super fine tip and will slip if you are not extra careful especially around the gauges. I had to touch up mine a few times because of it. I also ordered me a set of new gauge face inserts from PCG last night so I will post another pic when I get it all put back together.
Heres a pic of the markers I used
Quote from: dkn1997 on December 08, 2006, 05:51:16 PM
Hey manfred, I think that pilot pen looks better than any silver paint I have seen (not sprayed, but brushed or markered on)
I am thinking to try my next one with some bare metal foil and do just the really hard stuff with the paint pen. mix it up a bit. probably would fool a lot of people. and F them if it does not. we are doing dashes for our drivers, not show cars.
:iagree:
How much does one of those quartz kits cost?
rt engineering wants 75 bucks, I found what looks like the same one for 50 at www.clocksandgauges.com. i put it in and it works fine, been hooked up to my battery with jumpers and has been keeping time just fine.
Finally got around to taking some smaller file size pics of my dash for the '69. I used Plasti-Kote semi-flat black, & Dupli-Color's Chrome spray paint. I painted the chrome first, then masked off all of the gauges & silver areas with 3M's Fine Line tape. Came out good, but brushing it on would of course have been a lot easier. Looks similar to highly polished aluminum. Thought the Bare Metal Foil on my '68 looked better, but this still came out OK for me.
Looks great Bill440 :yesnod: :2thumbs:
I finally got mine all put back together earlier today and I think it came out fairly well. I wanted to get a pic of it n the car but by the time I got it back in, it was too dark and the pics came out crappy. I did get one before it was put in though.
Finally got time to download and resize my pics, here's the result of my attempt at DIY dash restoration. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I used Alcad II chrome paint with an airbrush, which is time consuming and labor intensive, but looks as close to real chrome as anything out there (aside from real chrome, that is.) The key to making this stuff work is sanding the part smooth-as-glass, and then painting a nice gloss black base before the chrome goes on. The rougher the surface, the more silvery it looks. Unfortunately I rushed through prep work on the gauge bezels, and you can see in the pics they ended up more silvery than the other bezels and the a/c vents. :-\ By the time I realized my mistake, I was all out of patience and didn't feel like doing it over... Oh well, good enough for my driver. :icon_smile_wink:
#1 Radio & glove box panels
#2 A/C vents
#3 Main gauge bezel, looks a little more silvery than the others.
#4 Pic as of today, finally got the last of the dash completed (and working)
Looks Fantastic!
Hey, that is a BEAUTIFUL job. it's nice to see people use elbow grease and ingenuity instead of just opening the checkbook. You should be proud, that dash looks just like it did in '68
I just bought some Bare Metal Foil but Im saving that for my model cars. For my dash, I'm gonna hand paint it. I have lots of hand painting skills from doing models.
Wow! That sure is blue :coolgleamA: Nice job, and thanks for sharing.
Paint will gray over time. The foil will last and can atleast be cleaned.
dash looks amazing how it turned out i think you inspired me to do the same to my dash since im taking it out to clean it up anyways
Nice job..!!
i read this thread twice .. and i was so impressed with the way rechargers dash came out i decided to do a little experimenting .....went looking for that bare metal foil but couldnt find any at my local hobby shop it is evidently a hot item for die hard modelers .. any way disapponted i came home and got to thinking if i took some contact cement and laid it down even could i get aluminum foil to do the same as the metal foil :scratchchin: had an old cluster bezel to try it on 1st ....well i tell ya its going in my car now if the rest of the bezel comes out like the top edge and the squareholes i got to tired to do the gauges yet i,ll play with those tomorrow night was going to take a pic but i left digital at work :brickwall: but i,ll be sure to post some soon as bezel is finished ....i think it may actually be a tad brighter then the metal foil but not sure yet i,ll let you guys decide that im just thinkin its a cheap alternative then a new bezel set and definatley looks way better than just youre basic silver paint imo
ugg i said rechargers dash cluster i meant dk,s
Another alternative is aluminum tape available at most auto and hardware stores. Buy the cheap stuff as it will be thinner. You should be able to burnish the seams in .
Quick question, what do you guys think is the best order to do these steps in:
Paint the Cluster Bezel Black
Paint the Chrome Pieces on the Bezel
Paint the lettering on the Bezel White
It may not matter all that much, but from all of the experience on this thread, some of you may know of advantages to doing them in a certain order.
Thanks Much!!!
Nice Job, it turned out great :2thumbs:
Quote from: jdiesel33 on June 17, 2008, 08:22:36 PM
Quick question, what do you guys think is the best order to do these steps in:
Paint the Cluster Bezel Black
Paint the Chrome Pieces on the Bezel
Paint the lettering on the Bezel White
It may not matter all that much, but from all of the experience on this thread, some of you may know of advantages to doing them in a certain order.
Thanks Much!!!
From my experience its best to clean and paint the whole bezel first with a semi-flat black paint. Then do the chrome. Then save the lettering for last. It gets pretty tedious, so have plenty of patience. :cheers:
Thanks for the advice. I will try to have patience. I already cleaned the Bezel with an all purpose cleaner. I think I will get some mineral spirits as well to use. So you think it should be semi-flat or satin? Seems like more people, on this thread at least, say satin. I'm sure the results are similar.
I used a semi-flat and I think mine came out alright. You could use either one you prefer.
Manfred, are you still satisfied with the result of the silver paint marker? I havent decided which route I am going to take for the chrome stuff yet. Yours looks good in the pic. How much does it resemble chrome in person?
I am still satisfied. The paint marker works very well and looks great but it doesnt have the pizazz shinyness of the original chrome. Personally I think it looks fine. I have a few pics that I took just a bit ago Ill post up here in a minute.
Yeah, I would say that looks damn good. I may end up going with that. The Bare Metal Foil seems intimidating based on how tedious everyone is saying it is.
I didnt know they made 68's with the shifter on the wheel. Was that common?
Hey - that is awesome looking! Nice work - unbelieveable difference! :2thumbs:
Quote from: jdiesel33 on June 17, 2008, 10:35:39 PM
Yeah, I would say that looks damn good. I may end up going with that. The Bare Metal Foil seems intimidating based on how tedious everyone is saying it is.
I didnt know they made 68's with the shifter on the wheel. Was that common?
Oh yeah, its common. However I think allot of us have converted to floor shift with a console. Maybee your thinking of the 66/67 Charger.
Quote
Oh yeah, its common. However I think allot of us have converted to floor shift with a console. Maybee your thinking of the 66/67 Charger. They were floor shift only.
Quote
In '66 you could get a 3 on the tree,the automatics were console shift.
In '67 you could get a 3 on the tree,the automatics were either column or console shift.
The source for this is from the sales brochure's.
Quote from: squeakfinder on June 19, 2008, 08:58:04 PM
Maybe your thinking of the 66/67 Charger. They were floor shift only.
:scratchchin: Nope... 66-67 had tree shifters as well, but they were the exception and not the norm :cheers:
Quote from: squeakfinder on June 19, 2008, 08:58:04 PM
Quote from: jdiesel33 on June 17, 2008, 10:35:39 PM
Yeah, I would say that looks damn good. I may end up going with that. The Bare Metal Foil seems intimidating based on how tedious everyone is saying it is.
I didnt know they made 68's with the shifter on the wheel. Was that common?
Oh yeah, its common.
:iagree: heres some reading for ya thanks to Barry at the Hamtramck Historical site
(http://www.hamtramck-historical.com/images/dealerships/DealershipDataBook/1968/68_Charger0010.jpg)